Sue Cunningham was interviewed live by Ron Arceo for the TEDx Calico Canyon series. You can hear it here

TED brings the powerful words of great speakers and inspired thinkers to people through the medium of the internet. In their own words, “We believe passionately in the power of ideas to change attitudes, lives and ultimately, the world.”

The interview is wide ranging. Sue explains how she has learned from the Indians how to listen, how to communicate at a very fundamental level, and how to relate to the Earth.

The situation in Australia’s Northern Territories is appalling. How a supposedly civilised – ‘First World’, even – government can do such appalling things to indigenous people is a mystery. Well no, it’s not, actually. This is all about Uranium.

Our friends Sinem and Damien, who work with the Yolngu people, are launching their film “Our Generation” at the Royal Geographical Society on Wednesday 16th February at 7:00 pm. Here’s the flyer:

Click to go to the Our Generation website

Please support this initiative. The more people who get to know about what is going on, the more the Australian government will be shamed into reversing the cynical manipulation they have deployed against these most vulnerable people.

This is about the proposed Belo Monte dam, which the Brazilian government is driving through the licensing process with reckless haste.

The Belo Monte dam would be the third largest in the world. As much earth moving would be required to build it as was needed to build the Panama Canal.

Yet the Brazilian government has been trying to railroad the scheme through on a very tight timescale, riding roughshod over the tatters of Brazilian environmental legislation and ignoring the requirements of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, which Brazil voted to endorse less than a year ago.

A development of this size, with the potential to reverse much of the progress Brazil has made in the last few years in reducing the rate of deforestation, should be fully discussed, with all its ramifications explored in detail to reach a balanced and reasoned decision about its environmental, social and financial viability before deciding if it should be built or if it should be abandoned forever.

This video includes footage from the demonstration and attempts to highlight the problems the scheme will bring to this so-far well preserved area of the Amazon.

For anyone who has problems viewing the Vimeo embeds, the two videos are available on YouTube here:

It has taken a long time to get together the resources to edit and produce a video based on the footage we shot during the Heart of Brazil Expedition.

The full length cut is nearing completion and should run to about 35 minutes. The video below is a 4-minute trailer. If you would like to purchase a copy of the full video on DVD, check back in a week or two.

Our thanks go to Andy Fairgrieve for his unstinting efforts and the many, many hours he has put in to directing and editing the video.

We would like to thank Sydney Possuelo, the renowned Brazilian sertanist and expert on ‘uncontacted’ tribes, for the interview. We are also grateful to Gerard and Margi Moss for giving their permission for the inclusion of the Flying Rivers animation – see their site www.riosvoadores.com.br .

This version of the short video is uploaded at high quality and may therefore take some time to download, especially on slower internet connections. A lower quality version will shortly be available on YouTube – watch this space!

As well as the Heart of Brazil Exhibition, ten of Sue’s images of indigenous people are included in the Rainforest Foundation‘s 20th anniversary photographic exhibition at the Proud Gallery, Camden.

The exhibition runs from the 7th to the 18th October 2009. Proceeds from the sale of prints will go to support the work of both the Rainforest Foundation and Indigenous People’s Cultural Support Trust’s Tribes Alive initiative.

The Heart of Brazil Exhibition is back in the UK. From the 16th October to the 21st November 2009, it will be on show at the Penny School Gallery, Kingston upon Thames. The exhibition will be open Tuesday to Saturday 11.00am to 4.00pm.

During the exhibition Sue will be at the gallery to discuss her work and the work of Tribes Alive/IPCST on 22nd October, 2nd November and 19th November between 7.00 and 8.30pm.

Composer, performer and IPCST founder Emily Burridge will be performing ‘Into The Amazon’ live on 21st October and 11th November at 7.00pm, and there will be an opportunity for questions and answers at the end of the performance.

These events are free of charge, but we would appreciate a donation to IPCST’s Tribes Alive programme. To help with seating arrangements, please phone or email as above to let us know you will be attending any of the events.

The Heart of Brazil Exhibition is currently running at the Neuter Michelon Gallery, Caixa Cultural, Caixa Economica Federal, Praça da Sé, São Paulo, Brazil. The exhibition will close next Sunday, the 21st June 2009.

On show are 150 striking images from the Heart of Brazil Expedition, and an installation in the form of a symbolised tree.

The exhibition has been a huge success, attracting many school and university groups, as well as a constant stream of ‘casual’ visitors.